Tony, Received the following Article RE: Cholesterol Testing via email:
New Study Calls Imatron's Ultrafast CT Scan "10 Times More
Accurate Than Cholesterol" in Predicting Those at Risk for
Heart Attack
Study Presented at 47th Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology
and Featured in April 6th Issue of Newsweek
SO. SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 1, 1998-- Imatron Inc. (Nasdaq: IMAT
- news) today said a new study presented at the 47th Scientific Session of the American College of
Cardiology (ACC) has found that calcium scores from Imatron's Ultrafast CT(R) scans are ''ten
times more accurate in predicting those at risk for cardiovascular events than any single risk factor,
and significantly more accurate than traditional risk factor assessment based on cholesterol levels
and non-lipid risk factors.'' This study, led by Yadon Arad, M.D., of the St. Francis Hospital,
Roslyn, New York, was conducted on over 1,000 patients and spanned three to four years.
According to Alan Guerci, M.D., director of research at St. Francis, and one of the world's leading
authorities on Imatron's patented electron beam technology, ''The evidence for the widespread use
of electron beam CT scanning as the primary screening tool for the detection of coronary artery
disease continues to mount. The accuracy of electron beam CT scanning is unprecedented.''
In the St. Francis study, researchers scanned over 1,000 initially asymptomatic patients for heart
disease with the Ultrafast CT, and then obtained follow-up data for three to four years. They found
coronary calcium scores, which measure the amount of calcification in the coronary arteries, are
directly related to adverse incidents: the higher the calcium score, the greater the likelihood of
cardiovascular events. This exceptionally strong relationship was found to be independent of less
predictive conventional risk factors such as cholesterol levels.
S. Lewis Meyer, president and CEO of Imatron, said, ''The exciting results of the long term St.
Francis outcomes study presented at the ACC conference and featured in the April 6, 1998, issue of
Newsweek clearly lay out a blueprint for effectively dealing with the leading cause of death among
men and women in the United States: Diagnose early stage heart disease with the Ultrafast CT
coronary artery scan and then attack the disease with cholesterol lowering drugs and lifestyle
modification before the developing blockage results in heart attack or death. I firmly believe that
public awareness of our Company's technology, in addition to the proven fact that heart disease can
be reversed, is the key to successfully reducing coronary heart disease in our country.
''We are highly confident that the article in Newsweek, combined with other recent articles in The
Wall Street Journal and Investors Business Daily, are, in fact, informing the public that the
coronary artery scan by Ultrafast CT is a 'mammogram of the heart' -- the best, first test for heart
disease leading to effective prevention. With this national media exposure and the new opportunity
to distribute our scanner in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and India, Imatron is positioned to directly
launch an effective and commercially significant initiative against heart disease,'' Mr. Meyer added.
Imatron Inc. is primarily engaged in designing, manufacturing, marketing, and supporting high
performance computed tomography (CT) scanners based on the Company's proprietary scanning
electron beam technology. Ultrafast CT is a registered trademark of Imatron. Imatron's Ultrafast
CT scanner is now in use at major medical centers around the world, including The Mayo Clinic,
University of Iowa, National Institutes of Health, UCLA, Stanford University, University of
Illinois, The Royal Brompton Hospital in London, Tokyo University Hospital, Beijing Hospital and
the National University Hospital of Singapore. Imatron's HeartScan Imaging Inc. subsidiary
provides Coronary Artery Disease Risk Assessment diagnostic services in a nationwide network of
clinics.
After some thought, it occurred to me that CTEC might benefit from this. If the CT program were to become more widespread, seems to me it would increase the need for Cholesterol control and monitoring.
Thoughts? Duane |
